It's summer, which means its hot, which means you need to protect your health by increasing your daily intake of water.

When the temperatures rise above 90 degrees you should be drinking about a gallon of water every day. While it seems like a lot, it's a key step to staying hydrated.

“The heat is here and the health district really relies on protecting people's health and making sure they are taking all the prevention steps they can,” Kim Papich with the Spokane Health District said.

Besides water, you can drink water and vegetable juices to stay hydrated. While you're drinking water you should cut back your intake of caffeine – coffee and caffeinated sodas – as well as alcohol.

As for your clothing, be sure to wear loose-fitting light-colored clothes.

If you exercise, make sure you do that in the early mornings or late in the evening when its the coolest time of the day.

Papich hopes people follow these simple steps to avoid a heat-related illness like heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

“What we are worried about with heat exhaustion is muscle crapping, faintness, vomiting, that clammy skin, those are all some of the signs that someone is suffering from heat exhaustion," Papich said.

“Heat stroke is when the body isn't able to regulate its own temp, often you will see a temp of 103 or high, nausea, vomiting, passing out, that is considered a medical emergency."